Tag Archives: sewing

Knitting and sewing update

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I took a break from knitting for about a year. Then I started knitting bedsocks and knitted five pairs using the same pattern. I kept two pairs and found good homes for the others.

A friend asked me to knit her some very simple fingerless mitts to wear while driving and doing other tasks. These were knitted in 1×1 rib with a side seam in which a thumb hole was left. I used DK yarn in her colour of choice – black. Unfortunately this colour is not easy to photograph, but I did try. In case it isn’t clear from the photo, the mitts are tubes with a hole part way along.

Fingerless mitts partly completed on left and finished on right.

My sewing projects have been to sort out problems. I have a winter coat with sleeves, which are too long for me. I had been wearing it unaltered, but the cuffs occasionally caught on handles or similar. Shortening the sleeves would have been a complicated job, possibly spoiling the appearance of the coat. The solution I found was to open a small part of the inside seam of each cuff and thread fairly wide elastic through it. This has made the coat wearable without spoiling its appearance.

The edge of a bath towel, which was otherwise serviceable, had pulled away from the body of the towel. I used a zigzag stitch on my sewing machine to repair it.

Some time ago I knitted myself a hat using surplus yarn a friend passed on to me. Hubby suggested it needed crocheted flowers to make it more interesting. I found some chunky yarn in suitable shades and decorated my hat. Since then it has been commented (favourably!) upon more than once. In fact another friend asked me to knit her a similar hat.

Since I began preparing this post, a programme has been broadcast on the radio discussing the repair of all sorts of items, from clothes to mobile phones. Do you repair anything? If not, why not?

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Is mending worthwhile?

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For many years before and after WWII it was usual for people (mainly women) to mend clothes. Most people had a mushroom in their sewing kit to hold a sock in position while it was being darned. Relatively cheap clothes and busy lives have led to fewer people bothering to mend anything. It is quicker to throw something away and replace it than to repair it. This approach is not particularly good for the environment.

I have recently been using my sewing machine and some oddments of used denim to mend my trousers and neaten the hems of hubby’s cut-off denim shorts. Afterwards I wondered whether it had been worthwhile in terms of time, energy and materials.

My thoughts about it are

  • By prolonging the useful life of these garments I have saved some resources compared with buying new
  • The time I spent sewing would otherwise have been spent reading, using my computer or doing puzzles (It was too hot for me to be outside gardening.)
  • I possibly improved my sewing skills
  • I already had suitable sewing thread
Part of the outside leg of a pair of blue trousers with a brighter blue band around the hem, being modelled by a person wearing a white sock
The hem of my trousers

Repair cafés are becoming popular. People are invited to take items for help in repairing them. Volunteers at the repair cafés are able to teach skills such as darning and (in some cases) repair the items.

Some people use decorative techniques in their mending. Patches may have designs created on them before stitching the patch onto a garment. Darning in a contrast colour may provide an interesting effect. Embroidery and appliqué are decorative techniques.

My photos are

  • the hem of some trousers I mended by adding bands of stretch denim cut from an old pair of jeans, which a family member made into a pair of shorts. This covered some frayed areas on the fold.
  • Part of the hem of a pair of shorts made from old jeans
Detail of the hem of a pair of shorts showing join in the contrast band and stitching.
The hem of a pair of shorts showing top-stitching and a seam

The main stitches I used were overlocking to neaten edges and in some cases join seams, and the longest straight stitch on my machine. The denim offcuts were not as long as the distance round the hem of the shorts, so joins were required.

Do you know how to darn? What do you think about mending things?

How to knit and crochet an angel

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This post consists of an introduction and a pattern for an angel Christmas decoration.

Introduction

This year a Christmas tree festival is planned with village organisations invited to decorate a tree. An enthusiastic crafter came to choir practice with some ideas.

My last attempt at making an angel was not as successful as I had hoped. This time I hadn’t really planned to make one. I have been taking a break from knitting due to painful thumbs, but I decided I needed the headspace, which knitting gives me, so I began knitting a child’s hat.

‘What has this to do with angels?’ I hear you mutter. The yarn I used was a similar shade to some decorations the crafter had brought to show us. It was lustrous. I thought, ‘This would make an angel’.

During the night in a half-awake state I formed an idea of how to knit an angel.

Pattern for an angel

The angel I made

Materials:

Oddments of double knitting yarn in colours suitable for angel and hair. Wool or embroidery thread for eyes and mouth. 1 pair 3.75mm knitting needles. Safety pin. Tapestry or darning needle. Small amount of toy stuffing. Crochet hook.

Skirt, body and head knitted in one piece

Cast on 32 sts using DK yarn and 3.75mm knitting needles.

Knit 6 rows.

Stocking stitch 8 rows.

Next row: (K.14, k 2 tog.) twice. 30sts.

Continuing in stocking stitch work 3 rows.

Next row (K 13, k.2.tog.) twice. 28 sts.

Continue decreasing 2 sts every 2 rows until 16 sts. remain.

Work 15 rows for the body.

*Next row: Cast off two sts. k. until 8 sts remain. Turn.

Next row: Cast off two sts. p. to end. **

Cut yarn and leave 4 sts on a safety pin.

Rejoin yarn to LHS of work.

Work from * to **.

Transfer sts. from safety pin to the empty knitting needle and purl across them.

Change colour here for the head if required.

Work 8 rows on the 8 sts..

Cut the yarn leaving a long length for making up.

Using a tapestry needle or darning needle draw the thread through the 8 stitches and secure firmly.

Arms (Knit 2)

Cast on 6 sts and work 28 rows in stocking stitch.

Cast off.

To make up

Angel with hanging cord and harp

Sew eyes and mouth on face (I did mine after stuffing the head, which was not easy!)

Join side of head and stuff it firmly with polyester toy stuffing.

Stitch around base of head to gather for neck.

Join shoulder seams and side seam of body.

Stuff body.

Stitch back and front of body together at top of skirt to secure stuffing. (I used running stitch going round twice to give the impression of back stitch.)

Fold arms in two lengthwise and join seams, gathering ends slightly. Attach to body at shoulder.

Hair

How you make the hair is open to your imagination.

I crocheted a solid base for the hair using a contrasting yarn. Then I looked up how to make looped fur in a crochet book. I worked some loops by winding the yarn twice round my finger and the crochet hook and drawing the yarn through the loops and securing them to the base with a slip stitch.

Attach hair to head.

Wings

Draw the shape of one wing on stiff paper such as a used envelope and cut it out. Place the centre line of the pattern to the fold in a piece of felt and cut around the pattern.

Sew wings to body along the centre line.

Hanging cord

Crochet a chain to the desired length and attach firmly to head.

Harp

I made the harp from part of a hat from a Christmas cracker. I stitched dark grey thread for the strings. The harp is stitched to the two hands and the body of the angel.

How did your angel turn out? Mine measures 8 inches in height from the hem of the skirt to the top of the unruly mop of hair.